site.btaMedia Review: July 1

HEADLINES

The leading topics across Bulgarian media on Wednesday are the government’s efforts to stabilize Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, the debate over road safety and guardrail contracts after recent fatal crashes, and criticism of the draft 2026 State Budget.

Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Trud report that an agreement with Litasco removes restrictions on the Burgas refinery’s crude-oil purchases from Swiss-registered counterparties, which the government presents as important for fuel-market stability. Trud, 24 Chasa, Capital, bTV and Nova TV focus on guardrail procurement, possible monopoly in the sector and political accusations after the fatal crash on Trakia Motorway. Mediapool.bg and Trud also cover criticism of the 2026 budget from the opposition, employers and trade unions.

POLITICS

BNT reported that Prime Minister Rumen Radev told ministers the current infrastructure development model was nearly exhausted, saying it bred corruption, poor quality and heavy public spending. He said the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works would be expected to carry out swift, thorough inspections of road repairs and construction, and that officials who approve substandard work would be held accountable.

The broadcaster said Radev tied the government’s economic agenda to attracting investment, boosting exports, supporting Bulgarian businesses and raising productivity. He also said the U.S. military tanker aircraft had left Vasil Levski Sofia Airport within the deadline set by Bulgarian authorities, reducing the risk of possible attacks near the capital.

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Telegraph reports that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is seeking a National Assembly hearing of Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev over his remarks on the security arrangements and flights of MRF Chair Delyan Peevski. The party describes the allegations as defamatory and says Demerdzhiev must explain whether his comments amounted to pressure on an opposition leader.

The daily says Demerdzhiev had earlier argued that information on politicians’ security should be public and that the necessity of Peevski’s protection should be clarified. Telegraph notes that the MRF had confirmed the National Service for Protection spent just over BGN 220,000 on Peevski’s security over 10 months.

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Dnevnik reports that Continue the Change Chair Assen Vassilev tells Nova TV that his party would back Andrey Gyurov if he entered the presidential race. Vassilev says CC would agree a common position with Democratic Bulgaria (DB) and the Forum for Democratic Action once the presidential candidates are known.

Dnevnik adds that Vassilev also comments on possible nominations for a new Supreme Judicial Council. He says that if Progressive Bulgaria seeks CC-DB’s support, the coalition will nominate candidates but will not insist on a quota-based approach. The candidates, he says, must be independent, reputable and free of concerns over dependencies.

ECONOMY

Trud reports that Lukoil Neftochim Burgas can now buy crude oil from all counterparties registered in Switzerland after restrictions tied to a 2023 Litasco loan were lifted. State-appointed special commercial administrator Evgeni Simeonov said the restrictions had made it extremely difficult for the refinery to operate normally. “This is a major step on the road we must travel to stabilize the refinery,” Simeonov says.

The daily adds that Prime Minister Rumen Radev met representatives of Litasco and Lukoil, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Poulev. Poulev says the agreement was an important first step towards an out-of-court settlement of the arbitration dispute over the external administration imposed on Bulgarian Lukoil companies in 2025.

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Trud also covers the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation’s debate on the 2026 draft budget. Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) Chair Kiril Domuschiev says the organization could back the budget only under several conditions, including targeted wage compensation for public-sector employees who will start paying their own social security contributions, a list of major assets slated for concession or privatization, the scrapping of automatic spending mechanisms and a plan to cut public-sector employment.

The daily notes that Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria Chair Rumen Radev proposes indexing pensions only to inflation, abolishing the minimum pension and raising the retirement age faster. Podkrepa Labour Confederation President Dimitar Manolov takes the opposite view on the social security ceiling, saying it should be abolished and that public servants should be compensated if they start paying their own contributions. Donev says the 2026 budget does not yet include the government’s own policies, which will be reflected in the 2027 budget.

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Mediapool.bg reports that CC Chair Assen Vassilev has again criticized the government’s draft budget, saying it raises operating spending at several institutions without adequate explanation. Vassilev questions an additional EUR 737 million in spending for nine institutions and asks whether this is more important than cutting the deficit by 0.6 percentage points.

The site adds that Vassilev criticizes the lack of a detailed breakdown for EUR 1.5 billion in spending to be allocated by Council of Ministers decrees. “The National Assembly will give the Council of Ministers a blank cheque for EUR 1.5 billion,” Vassilev said. Mediapool.bg notes that the draft budget, presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Galab Donev with a 5.7% deficit, has been criticized by the opposition, economists, trade unions and employer organizations.

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Dnevnik reports that Bosch will close its engineering centre in Sofia from mid-2027, affecting about 670 employees. Around 400 jobs are expected to be cut in 2026. The company says the process will be handled with maximum social responsibility and in cooperation with the authorities.

Capital reports the same development, adding that the Sofia Tech Park engineering centre is part of Robert Bosch EOOD. The weekly says employees without assigned contract project work will be affected first, while engineers needed to complete projects will stay on for the second phase. Capital notes that the group’s sales, service and digital-solutions operations in Bulgaria will continue.

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Capital reports that Nomad Energy Company is poised to buy ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP, Bulgaria’s second-largest coal-fired power plant. The weekly says the buyer is one of Bulgaria’s largest electricity traders and is publicly linked to the energy circle around businessman Hristo Kovachki, although formal ownership records do not show he controls it.

The deal first hinges on the National Electricity Company (NEK), which holds 27% of the plant and has the right to buy the stake on offer, the weekly adds. If NEK does not exercise that right, Nomad Energy Company will become the plant’s majority partner. Capital notes that the transaction must also be reviewed by the Commission for Protection of Competition, while ContourGlobal will retain the 202 MW/500 MWh battery system at the site.

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Capital also writes that renewable energy is changing Bulgaria’s electricity system faster than the public debate suggests. The weekly says renewable sources generated more than half of Bulgaria’s electricity in May 2026, driven by solar power, hydropower and the rapid rollout of industrial batteries.

The article adds that solar capacity has exceeded 6,640 MW and that operational batteries reached 4,800 MW, with more than 14,000 MWh of storage capacity, by mid-June. Capital notes that Bulgaria now imports cheap electricity during low-price hours to charge batteries and exports it again in the evening, turning the country into a regional price-arbitrage player.

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Telegraph reports that Minister of Tourism Ilin Dimitrov has opened the first meeting of the Tourism Reform Council, describing it as the largest sector gathering since the Tourism Ministry was established. The forum brings together representatives of the state, business and the tourism industry.

The daily adds that Dimitrov says the ministry wants a new working model based on smaller groups and cooperation with the sector. He says Bulgaria must stop treating tourism as a secondary issue and prepare a package of legislative changes by the end of the year. On reports of fuel-oil pollution along the Black Sea coast, Dimitrov says he visited more than 30 beaches and saw no fuel oil.

ROAD SAFETY

Trud writes that Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov says about BGN 500 million has been paid under guardrail contracts signed three years ago and that payments exceeded initial levels by nearly BGN 200 million under addenda in 2025. Shishkov also says BGN 16 million in indexation payments is being made.

The daily adds that a BGN 1 billion tender is being terminated. Shishkov says the procedure appeared designed to create a monopoly in guardrail replacement. GERB-UDF’s Toma Bikov says GERB will sue Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev over his claim that companies supplying guardrails are linked to GERB leader Boyko Borissov.

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24 Chasa writes that former interior minister Daniel Mitov says road deaths in Bulgaria fell from 901 in 2009 to 463 in 2020 during Borissov’s three governments. Mitov argues that the trend was not accidental but reflected consistent policy, tighter enforcement, technical measures, infrastructure investment and legislative changes.

The daily adds that Mitov accuses the current debate of focusing too narrowly on guardrails, road markings and individual tragedies rather than on state policy and institutional coordination. He says the fight for road safety cannot be won after a crash has already happened and that the focus should be on prevention.

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Capital writes that the fatal crash on Trakia Motorway on June 24 has exposed unresolved problems in the selection, replacement and procurement of guardrails. The weekly says the guardrail at the crash site was an N2-class system, a low containment level, while a 38-tonne truck would require an H4b system.

Capital adds that Bulgaria has no clear public plan for replacing guardrails by risk priority, no transparent funding programme and no visible evidence that replacement is being carried out systematically. The weekly notes that Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev alleged political links behind major guardrail suppliers, while GERB denies the claim and threatens a defamation lawsuit against him.

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bTV reported that former regional development minister Violeta Komitova said the problem is not a lack of contracts but the way the guardrail maintenance system is organized. She said guardrails were separated from general road maintenance in 2022, creating conditions for a private monopoly.

The broadcaster added that Komitova accused the system of enabling corruption. “Many people die over road safety, and many people get rich from it,” Komitova said. She argued that multiple institutions deal with road safety but to no effect.

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Nova TV reported that a heavy truck crashed into a house in the village of Lipen, Montana Region, on Wednesday morning. The house was unoccupied, but the impact caused serious material damage.

The broadcaster adds that residents have long complained about more frequent crashes in the village after heavy traffic was redirected through the area because of repairs on the E79 international road between Montana and Vratsa. An administrative offence report was issued to the driver, and pre-trial proceedings are expected.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY

Trud reports that a Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter escorted an Airbus A320 after the aircraft squawked transponder code 7500, indicating unlawful interference on board. The fighter took off from the 3rd Air Base and intercepted the aircraft shortly after it entered Bulgarian airspace from the Danube border area.

The daily adds that the Bulgarian pilot carried out identification, interrogation and escort tasks until the aircraft left Bulgarian airspace. The operation was coordinated with allied Turkish Air Force units, which readied two F-16 fighters to take over the escort after the aircraft crossed into Turkiye.

JUSTICE

Telegraph reports that eight people, including a public official, have been detained in Bulgaria at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Sofia in an investigation into subsidy fraud worth about EUR 900,000. The case concerns EU-funded employment support schemes.

The daily adds that investigators suspect an organized criminal group used companies to apply for projects under the Human Resources Development Programme 2021-2027. The alleged scheme involved false information and fictitious employment relationships, with the total value of funds wrongfully claimed and received put at about EUR 990,000.

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Mediapool.bg writes that businessman Yuliyan Yankov, known as “the Potato”, has gone into hiding and is wanted nationwide and across the EU under a European arrest warrant. Prosecutors say he repeatedly failed to appear for questioning and other investigative procedures.

The site notes that Yankov became known through an Anti-Corruption Fund investigation into the so-called free roadside assistance scheme, under which road maintenance companies selected by the Road Infrastructure Agency allegedly transferred millions to a single company for towing stranded vehicles on motorways. Mediapool.bg adds that there is no public information on the results of related checks into the Road Infrastructure Agency or on the case against Yankov.

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Mediapool.bg also writes that the Varna District Court has terminated the case against Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev and returned it to prosecutors over procedural flaws in the indictment. Judge Svetla Daskalova found that prosecutors had not specified the time, place and manner of the alleged bribe-taking, nor which elections the money was allegedly intended to fund.

The site adds that Kotsev is charged with participation in a criminal group, a corruption offence and coercion. The case also involves municipal councillors Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliev from Continue the Change (CC), former mayoral office head Antoaneta Petrova, and businesswoman Plamenka Dimitrova as the prosecution’s key witness.

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Capital carries a commentary by Access to Information Programme lawyer Alexander Kashamov, who says an entire anti-corruption archive has disappeared. He compares the situation to the former State Security archive and warns that files and alerts once held by legitimate institutions may now be in private hands and used for pressure.

The weekly adds that Kashamov also discusses refusals to provide access to public information, the lack of legislation transposing the EU anti-SLAPP directive, and the transparency of meetings between officials and interest representatives. He says the prosecution service is currently the most opaque institution.

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Nova TV reported that the Anti-Corruption Fund presented its eighth annual monitoring report, Anti-Corruption Institutions 2025: Democracy Under Attack. ACF Director Boyko Stankushev said the main conclusion remained unchanged: there are no convictions in major high-level corruption cases.

The broadcaster added that Stankushev discussed 71 accumulated high-level corruption cases and 148 substantive decisions by the anti-corruption commission, with conflict of interest found in only 22. He also criticized the disappearance from public view of the archive of the closed anti-corruption commission and said the first task of any new State Agency for National Security head should be to make that archive public.

SOCIETY

24 Chasa reports on a Eurobarometer survey showing that 57% of Bulgarians see benefits from Bulgaria’s EU membership, compared with 74% across the EU. Bulgarian respondents most often cite access to the European labour market as the main benefit.

The daily adds that 63% of Bulgarian respondents expect the European Parliament to address inflation and the rising cost of living. A majority, 72%, also agree that the EU is a place of stability in a turbulent world, while 56% of Bulgarian respondents say they are optimistic about the EU’s future.

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Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported that the National Revenue Agency has launched its summer inspection campaign on the Black Sea coast. In two days, the agency carried out 150 checks and found 50 violations, including around 15 in Varna.

The broadcaster added that teams checked restaurants on Varna’s coastal alley during July Morning events. Anna Miteva, communications director at the National Revenue Agency, said the most common violations were failure to issue fiscal receipts and discrepancies between cash register data and cash held on site.

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Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that two-thirds of Bulgarians see drug use in Bulgaria as a very serious problem, citing a Trend survey commissioned by 24 Chasa. More than 40% say they know someone who has used or is using drugs.

The radio adds that nearly six in ten respondents believe drugs are easily available in their locality. The most widely supported measures are tougher penalties for dealers, stricter control over distribution and a stronger police presence around schools and other high-risk places.

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Dnevnik writes that the 2026 national external assessment results show Bulgarian-language performance similar to last year’s but a continuing need to strengthen mathematical thinking and functional literacy. The Ministry of Education and Science says pupils cope better with tasks testing acquired knowledge than with tasks requiring analysis, argumentation and application in new situations.

The daily adds that fourth-graders improved their Bulgarian-language results, while seventh-graders struggled with editing, interpretation and short argumentative answers. Tenth-graders had difficulties with analytical reading, thesis formulation and argumentation. In mathematics, results fell in all three grades, with the new integrated test for tenth-graders serving as a baseline for future comparison.

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Capital writes that the state-owned School Recreation and Sport company, under the Ministry of Education and Science, is trying to revive interest in children’s camps. The company operates 26 holiday bases, including 10 year-round mountain facilities and 16 seasonal Black Sea facilities.

The weekly notes that the fixed social price is EUR 13 per child for full board, while private holidaymakers pay EUR 20 to EUR 33. Capital adds that half of the operating bases have not been renovated for more than ten years and that more than EUR 50 million would be needed for a full overhaul of more than 13 facilities and the restoration of some unused sites.

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Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that hundreds of people across Bulgaria once again welcomed July Morning. The first July sunrise came at 5:52 a.m., with the Black Sea coast remaining the tradition’s most popular setting.

The broadcaster said the tradition is most often linked to Varna in the early 1980s, Western rock culture and the symbolic pursuit of freedom under the communist regime. Kamen Bryag remains the best-known gathering spot, while Sofia is marking the occasion with Late July, a literary and music event at Kino Cabana featuring poets and Bulgarian bands.